An Indian-American scientist, Rakesh Jain, would be presented eith the prestigious National Medal of Science award by U.S. President Barack Obama on May 19.
Jain is a professor of tumor biology at Massachusetts General Hospital in the Harvard Medical School.
The National Medal of Science Award is the United States' highest honor for science and engineering.
Rakesh, along with 16 other recipients, would receive the "National Medals of Science and National Medals of Technology and Innovation," according to the Press Trust of India.
The National Medal of Science is awarded every year to individuals with outstanding contributions in the field of science, engineering, and mathematics. The U.S. government has been giving away the award since 1959.
Jain, an IIT-Kanpur alumnus, is a recipient of many awards for his work on tumor biology, especially studies on the impact of tumor blood vessels on chemotherapy and radiation treatment.
According to brain.mgh.harvard.edu, Jain's breakthrough discovery was that of controlling the tumor cells' environment for chemotherapy and other treatments to work.
Jain received his BTech in chemical engineering degree from IIT Kanpur in 1972.
The award function was initially scheduled for January 22, but was postponed due to a major snowstorm, the White House said, according to the PTI.
In 2014, the Indian-American scientist was chosen as one of the 50 Oncology Luminaries on the 50th anniversary of the American Society of Clinical Oncology. In 2015, he also received honorary doctorates from Duke University, Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, and IIT-Kanpur, according to betterindia.
